subtle insanity
by mishageddon
Summary: zexion is ten when marluxia brings in the most fascinating game. a horrific game from the Devil himself.


.subtle insanity. by Mikasaur!!  
Well kiddies I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Nor do I own Zexion Marluxia Vexen Roxas Riku Sora Axel . . . you get the point. Read and Review . . . . . enjoy.

* * * * * * * *

The boy sat on his bed, knees apart; elbows on knees, hands clasped together and form leaned forward. He stared blankly at the colour-lost grey-scale straightjacket on the wood floor his bared feet were touching. Everything was colour-lost. All shades of grey with tints of colour. He grins for some reason, finding something funny. Yet, he doesn't know what it is. What made him smile? He scrunches his nose, brings his eyebrows closer, his train of thought is lost again. He sighs and flops back on the bed almost angelically.

A voice at his door makes him jump a little, body flying up before falling back down and shaking his head clear. Then the abilities of memory open the sense of familiarity and recognition to set in. The form at the doorframe was lithe and svelte, showing the bare hints of fading adolescence—shadowed by a loosely form-fitting long sleeved shirt and dark denim jeans. The feet of the elder were also bare, like the little boys'. His hair wasn't at all colour-lost or grey-scale. It was a bright, happy shade of light pink.

The little boy eyed the figure for some time before grinning, showing teeth seeming to be filed to points. His visible dark blue eye starting to glow—the other was lost in his mass of silver-blue hair—and he extended his hands to his brother, _Marluxia_. His brother grins, _Zexion, you goof,_ he says shaking his head. _You broke out of the Houdini straight jacket. It's impossible._ He places the wooden box he'd had in his hands on the bed as he took his brother in his arms and cradled the child.

_Whatever. You said that yesterday and look who's straight jacketless today. _The little boy responded with a scoff and smirk. His brother nods, acknowledging the fact with a hidden sort of envy. _Yes that I did say. So, I brought a game for us to play._

_A game? _The boy swivels to face his brother, straddling his waist as the elder got up and walked over to the jacket kicking it away and pulling a piece of chalk from his back pocket. The younger scrambled up his brother's back with enthusiasm, watching him draw an Alchemic circle.

_Yes, a game. It's called Chess._ The elder responds, grunting when his brother dug a bare ankle into his hipbone. _Zeku,_ he scolds softly, turning to face the younger boy for a moment_, Stop. You're hurting me._

_Sorry~,_ the little boy drawled, slithering down to the floor. Then dancing over to the bed again pulled the box toward her. He sets it on his lap, eyeing the board.

_Chess? _He looks over at his brother inquisitively.

_Chess. _The elder repeats, a wicked grin on his lips.

_Chess._ The younger confirms. The elder laughs to himself and Zexion shivers, the room had drastically dropped in temperature, his breath now misty, he stares at it. _Marluxia?_

_Yes? _The elder responds to his name lightly. He stands and slaps his hands against each other. Zexion forgets his question in the distraction of attempting to catch the falling chalk, which looked like white ash and very small flecks of snow to him. Marluxia smiles at his brother's antics, and shaking his head took the chessboard from its container and set up the game. Zexion continued to dance around like a child would, noticing the game setup only from peripheral vision. _Hu?_ he turns lightly on his heel, digging it into the sands of the flooring and sliding his foot back to lean forward and see the chessboard better.

_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pretty_ . . . he whispers, taking an intricate and elaborately designed Knight from the board. It was a reared up black marble horse with a little man on the back, one hand hanging to the mane for dear life, a stony gaze fixed forward, the other hand raised with a spear in hand. The horse was whinnying, a scream flashing its eyes. Zexion very nearly drops the Knight. Luckily Marluxia catches his hands.

_Here, _Marluxia breathes, allowing his brother to lean back into him. He allows his eyes to flutter shut as he kisses the slate-haired boy's temple. _I'll show you how to play. _He takes a pawn, which looked like a slowly fattening totem pole with a very, very, very sharp point at the top and places it on the square next to it._ That's a complete move, Okay?_

_O-Okay._ Zexion murmurs, breaking from Marluxia to fall to his knees. Marluxia eyes him hungrily almost. Zexion shudders and rolls over unto his side of the chessboard, moaning breathily when he felt the cold settle over him with more force. He squirms and shakes his head, picking up a pawn and moving it forward one. Marluxia nods, copying the motion. Both continued like that until their pawns met. That was when Marluxia grinned._ We can't move more._ He explains, _T__hey're in a fight._ Zexion nods a slight recognition and points to the Knight. Marluxia explains his possible moves.

Zexion moves him and Marluxia takes another pawn out. Zexion gets up to grab a jacket and when he comes back finds his brother's pawn had moved more toward the middle of the board. He places his hands on his hips, but Marluxia acted innocent. So Zexion jumped the pawns. Marluxia screeches, Zexion jumps at the sudden noise, paralyzed in shock. White trendrils of smoke were coming from the elder's mouth.

Zexion starts to hyperventilate. Marluxia glared at him and Zexion shivered as he moved his Knight more toward his other chess pieces. Marluxia lashes out with his pieces and Zexion actually scoots back in surprise. Marluxia laughs a sadistically. _Are you scared?_ he asks with a wicked grin, _of my game's ability?_

_You call this—this _**_curse_**_ an ability?!_ Zexion queries, appalled and terrified. He was only eleven—and dreadfully mentally ill—after all. Marluxia laughs, hair flopping in his eyes just a little, nodding and grinning a grin the Cheshire Cat would've been proud of. _Yes, my game is cursed, I got it from _**_Xemnas_**_ himself. _Marluxia slides his pawn forward and Zexion moved his own pawn toward it.

_I always win. That is how I repay the Devil. _Marluxia explains, the grin grew more maniacal, his movements increasingly fervent. Zexion screams when his brother jumps his pawn and a flaming-talon hand closes around on his heart. The hand squeezes and Zexion throws his head back in pure agony. Marluxia laughs and Zexion, panting, struggles and moves his Rook forward, jumping the pawn and Rook behind it. _That's illegal! _Marluxia persists, his voice frantic.

_The Devil has no rules!!_ Zexion screams back, tears forming in his eyes as he is forced to catch a broken breath. The argument apparently thought valid. Marluxia was now writhing against unseen chains. Zexion feels no remorse, that scares him a little. He watches as the elder moves his own Knight forward.

By now, Marluxia had lost a Knight, all but one pawn, a Rook, and a Bishop. Zexion had only lost all but two pawns, a Knight and a Bishop. _We both have our Royalty. _Zexion points out, trying to catch his breath. _Yes. We do._ Marluxia mutters, frighteningly calm, he fixes his gaze on Zexion who shakes his head and hair falls more over his face. He's scared. He's scared and terrified and in shock and cold.

_I—Will—Win._ Marulxia suddenly hisses, shoving his Queen forward. Zexion then realizes the peril of his situation. He shoots up, _N—!_ He stumbles into the chessboard and everything becomes bigger. Zexion looks around. He was surrounded by chess pieces, all of them were so menacing. A pawn with honey-blonde curls and a blade with a key-like end _stares_ at him through light blue eyes, a similar one with chocolate tangents and a same blade looks at him, worried. They both bound toward him, Zexion screams and shakes his head. _Go away!_ he stumbles back. A Rook with a blindfold and silver hair reaches for him. He runs away and trips, tumbling down the chessboard as if it were stairs.

He blocks his face, whimpering and moaning until he comes an abrupt halt, bashing his head into the feet of a horseless Knight with blonde hair. The green eyes look at him speculatively, _Zexion. Come now, it's time for your pill. Don't be difficult like you were last time._ Zexion struggles to pull himself up, he finds his feet and gravity and he runs blindly, clawing the air to pull himself along faster. In his blind run he bumps into his brother's Queen, he stumbles back and falls on his flank. Blue gemstones took place in the Queen's eyes, much like Marluxia's own. Zexion screams again, much louder this time and scrambles up, the board beneath his feet starting to collapse in on itself like a batch of quicksand. He stumbled again and started to fall into the swirling mass.

As he thought all hope was lost a hand reached down and picked him up. _Hey, kid, you ok?_ Zexion struggles expertly against his captor. An incredibly tall pawn with flaming red hair and bright acid green eyes._ Let me go!! _He screams, eyes alight with fury. He pushes against his holder, squeezing his eyelids together and shaking his head furiously. He pushes away with all of his might, pushing with one hand, groping blindly with the other. Words of confusion and of comfort reached the boy's ears deafly. His hands close around the object without seeing and without a second thought he furiously stabs with it.

He hears a scream and his eyes snap open. _No—no—no—no—no—no. _Marluxia was on the ground next to the chessboard. Blood was drenching everything. The chessboard, Marluxia's shirt, Zexion's hand, the pawn, Zexion himself. Horrified, Zexion drops the pawn and crawls over to his brother, slipping on the bloody hand slightly, but still making it to where Marluxia lay dying. Marluxia's midnight blue eyes haze over, his lips part, _And I thought I'd win._ Comes the weak, content whisper. His eyes slide shut and a slight smile rests on his lips. _No . . . _Zexion whispers, picking up the dead form. _No, no. _Zexion rocks his brother's corpse.

_Come back, Marly, come back. I didn't mean it. _

_It was an **accident**. I **swear **it true. _

_I **swear** it. I **swear** it.  
_

_C'mon Marly. I love you. I wish you'd never met the Devil. _

_C'mon Marly come back. Come back . . . . . . ._

_Come back . . . . . ._

* * *

"I would back up if I were you. He has broken the glass too many times to count. His name is Zexion, he's been here since he went insane three years ago."

"Then who the hell is Marluxia?" Axel mutters in confusion, taking a large step behind the red line in front of him, eyes never leaving the boy throwing himself at the glass separating them. His livid eyes snapped open and met Axel's green ones. Axel backs up again merely out of surprise. The glass quivered and began to crack. T

he grinning boy screaming and writhing in the corner trying against the straight jacket was seriously starting to creep him out. Axel shudders, Vexen looks over to him, "Marluxia was his brother, well more of a caretaker; killed by Zexion."

"He _killed_ his_ brother_?" Axel was now intrigued how the innocent looking child on the other side of the glass could have killed someone. Vexen nods, "Yes. Of course, it was about a year after Marluxia raped Zexion." Axel pales visibly. Vexen yawns, "Again, it was three years ago that Zexion killed his brother." Vexen cocks his head to the side, looking at the insane child with a half-lidded interest. Zexion grins back at him, spitting and laughing as his slobber smears on the glass.

Vexen glances at Axel and crosses his arms. "He drove a pawn through the elder's heart."

"Good, Lord." Axel breathes. Vexen walks over to a table and pulls out a thick file. He flips through it and comes across the pictures. "He then continued on to attempt at nursing the corpse back to health."

Axel's eyes widen in horror, staring transfixed at the gory pictures displaying a small blood-drenched room . . . Zexion sobbing over a bloody body . . . a chessboard, "A _pawn_?" Vexen nods; eyeing the boy cryptically before turning and placing the file on the table behind them. "He's fourteen now, and he has escaped this asylum too many times to count. Each time he has killed up to six persons. Thrice he has caused another person—or two—to go insane. Twice he has killed a new worker. Once he has brought a new worker."

Axel stares at Vexen then jumps when a hand places itself on his shoulder. He turns and gasps, the tiny boy grins, cocking his head to the side, as so his ratty hair falls in the other eye too, "Shit." He makes to punch Axel the taller man catches the boy's straight-jacket covered fist. They start a dance of fighting and Vexen looks at the glass, it was shattered into the smallest possible bits. He sighs and gives them a few minutes before mumbling a small, "Welcome to my life."

Then turning to the counter behind him for the boy's specially-made sedative he sets to a normal day of work.


End file.
